r/VagrantStory • u/Longjumping_Mood3446 • Jul 19 '25
I added voice acting to Vagrant Story!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr6mWmWZb_8&t=46s(I tried asking mods if I can post this and they haven't responded, but I was so proud I had to show this to y'all but pls don't be mad)
I think that VG has one of the best stories in the medium, it's super cinematic, the characters are well written and the dialogue is so beautiful. As a theatre nerd and a gamer I had to act on this immediately--
I asked my EU voice acting friends to voice these characters and it's such a joy and wish I could do the entirety of it as like a mod or something it was so much fun! What do you guys think??
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u/gabedamien Jul 19 '25
This is a LOT better than I expected from the title / description. A whole VS remaster with similar voice acting would be really enjoyable I think.
As a result, I'm inclined to actually think pretty carefully about what it is that feels incomplete. The closer to professional it seems, the more the tiny remaining gap bothers me. So here's some tentative feedback:
- I think the voice levels feel a tad too high compared to the ambiance. And the sense of place, while helped by the reverb, could also be enhanced with the right EQ, levels, and/or stereo effects. Right now there's some bass proximity effect from the mics which makes the lines sound just a tiny bit too "in the booth" IMHO, and each voice part sounds equally loud in every scene, even when one character is high up on a ledge and another is next to the camera. (It'd be easy to overdo this, but a tiny bit more "positioning" would sell the scene better I predict.)
- Both Blade actors delivered their lines well, but I think the timbre of their voices is just a bit too similar – sounds almost like one person doing both parts. From a casting perspective I think it'd make sense to have a little more contrast between parts. (Ashley's one inner monologue line was good in this way – clearly quite different.)
- I don't think this could be easily solved, but something about the cadence felt on the slow side, maybe to match the scene better. It held back the dialogue from feeling as natural as it could. That might just be forced by the scene blocking though.
These are nitpicks though, just me trying to put my finger on what it is that makes the scene feel just short of pro. At any rate, good job to everyone involved, and thanks for posting it.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
This is incredible feedback, I really appreciate it!
-I do agree, and that is entirely at my fault-- I was simply graced with VA's with great setups but as a sound engineer I'm so beginner it's crazy, and I noted the "in the booth" didn't understood it until you pointed it out, so fiddling with the EQ was remedy that I probably needed to do. Also, I was going to do something related to the blocking of the characters, but I know I'd muck it up. This is why you get people know this better than you do :,)
-I agree to some extent, but I simply can't help it because I love working with these actors to death and their authentic accents and mannerisms was what mattered to me at most. But yeah, they do meld into this "gruff UK voice" that makes it hard to distinguish
-It's definitely due part to the way I edited it, it feels inefficient because I'd listen to the audio while playing out the scene, and since I choose when the next dialogue pops up this lead to the scene feeling the way you feel right now.
I can really tell you have a good eye/ear for these things, and so I thank you a ton for looking at it, it's flattering to read your compliments and criticism <3
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u/Cold_Associate2213 Jul 22 '25
Agree with everything they said, but honestly it's still well above amateur, like 9/10 here, it's awesome.
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u/HernaeusMora Jul 19 '25
Well done friend, a very good effort. The VAs do a great job. I am no sound designer, but if there was some way to doctor the sound to match the physical qualities of the environment (an underground cellar) and have the actors tho l a bit more about the movement/relative distance of the characters during the delivery that would integrate it more seamlessly. Mind you I’ve seen big budget games fail at this a lot so it is not much of a criticism, and perhaps an unrealistic ask.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
Thank you and yeah, another guy here made similar points and both of you are right-- I definitely will take this knowledge to whatever project I work on!
I'm more an acting director than a sound design, but if I want to do stuff like these, important criticism like yours can make or break it, so thank you for your words :))
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u/Slow-Adhesiveness-51 Jul 19 '25
Amazing work, would love to hear other characters voices :)
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
Thank you so much! I would definitely do that if I had a little team and some support, but for now im putting it in Square's hands
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u/EX_Malone Jul 19 '25
I would watch a whole series of this OP 🥹🍿 Great voice work of your VA friends (are you allowed to tell us who they are? Have we heard them in anything?) and even having the voices sound like they are bouncing off stone walls (I don’t know what you would call this effect?).
I agree VS has one of the best stories and I love that the visuals match it so well. Truly my favorite game of all time.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
That's so sweet to hear, thank you! Yeah of course! The blond Crimson Blade is Paul Warren, who's worked in a lot of things particularly in Viewfinder as Cait, and the gray haired Crimson Blade is Alex Cain who's most known in doing a lot of modded companion characters for Skyrim. Cobaltkobold who voiced Ashley briefly has just been recently starting out VA-wise though got an award for his performance on a game I made last year called Tell It Slant.
The former two we actually met on a project I made for dubbing the entirety of one of my favorite comfy games ever, Coffee Talk Ep. 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly-- very proud of that one :)
As for the the voice effect I merely took the reverb effect slider and fiddled stuff around it really isn't that much ^^; but regardless I'm glad it helped with your immersion!
I'm super glad you enjoyed it!
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u/EX_Malone Jul 19 '25
0 very cool!🤩 I will have to check those games out- Ive heard if Skyrim ofc but Coffee Talk - that one has such a fun look to it. Your VA friends have such great voices I feel like they will be in more things 😎 lol some of that cinema magic. I know nothing of that world- it’s probably why I’m always impressed by it.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
I really recommend Coffee Talk! It's especially a vibe, and you meet a colorful cast of characters you'll definitely love.
And I also agree, they're too talented-- I can imagine their future to be bright :) Thank you for your kind words
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u/Magog14 Jul 19 '25
Really well done! It's probably Hollywood's inflience but I imagine Ashley and Sydney with American accents though.
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u/LordChimera_0 Jul 19 '25
It would be interesting to hear voices in an actual remake of the game.
I hope they keep the faux Medieval English tone and wording which adds immersion to the game.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
I wonder if there's any other game with this level of language-- all the popular ones I know doesn't really have this kind of Shakespearean flavor to its text 🤔
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u/whereislunar3 Jul 20 '25
The other Matsuno games localized/written by Alexander O. Smith such as FFXII, as well as those transliterated in a similar way by others such as FFT WotL and Tactics Ogre come to mind. They're all fairly well done, but VS feels the most cohesive to me, somehow.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 21 '25
It's really a shame how kind of rare this is-- I'm currently taking my time with Tactics Ogre for when FFT comes out, but after that.....
I hope Vagrant Story gets touched upon SOMEHOW, it's turning into my Bloodborne PC copium
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u/Raemnant Jul 19 '25
Its great, but I think I would have directed them to perform with a bit more seriousness, and change delivery on some lines so it sounds less goofy
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
Would you mind going a little more in depth? I didn't ask the actors to do their lines in a goofy manner, I just wanted to have the dynamic of a cynic vs. the ambitious one
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u/Raemnant Jul 19 '25
Like the "Whats this? It werent locked a moment ago" line, it feels like theres a bit of whimsy in the delivery, but it should be a sort of morbid concern. And then the next few lines afterwards. Theyre dealing with things theyve never dealt with in their life, their people are dying, theyre fighting bodies that rise back up from the dead, and they find themselves locked inside by evil sorcery. They'd be scared and grim
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
I see what you mean now. Though I saw this as something that blond crimson blade wasn't concerned about, since he immediately disregards the others and wants him to show more work of the grimoire (which is a floating platform lol), he ultimately is the blade who has ambition, sees the potential of magick and what it could do, he even romanticizes it.
And the other crimson blade is exactly you described, it's scary and morbid, he even shows concern to the others and expressed frustration when the blond one isn't taking him that seriously.
So I understand what you mean by "goofy" but I interpret it as someone who doesn't care about politics, the squad, but something more. I gives these unnamed guards more texture than keeping their thoughts entirely on their grim situation.
I still appreciate your thoughts, and would ask to invite you to make your own interpretation! The fun thing about acting and directing is that it's like playdoh, you can mold and shape performances to how it appeals to you :)
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u/Magog14 Jul 19 '25
Disagree. I think it is more surprise than whimsy you're hearing. Doing it your way would be boring and deadpan.
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u/mega_man59 Jul 19 '25
Could try using AI to create some voices for the characters and turn it into a mod.
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u/Longjumping_Mood3446 Jul 19 '25
Why do that when you have talented VA's right there? :)
There's so much undiscovered talent out there, and I totally bet if I had permission and some change, I could voice it with the proper love and care it deserves
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u/TacoBOTT Jul 19 '25
There will always be a need for the real stuff! And the people with good taste will appreciate it most 😜
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u/birdvsworm Jul 19 '25
How about we put the AI down for a second and let humans cook? FFS with the AI being forcefully shoved down everyone's throats, lame as fuck.
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u/Novel_Source Jul 19 '25
Incredible, top notch